Ultimatum
by Of Quirky Excellence
Summary: Either way he knew he would lose her... Varania Reunion AU, (AU to my other stories as well)
1. Chapter 1

Fenris took a deep breath as he followed Hawke into the Hanged Man. The blonde rogue had agreed to accompany him into the tavern to meet his sister, and Isabela and Varric were already waiting there. Hawke stopped by the bar and she nodded to Isabela. The pirate stood and joined the pair as they made their way towards one of the back tables, where, sure enough, there sat a lone elvhen woman, with red hair, dressed in commoners' clothing.

Fenris' heart beat faster now, his nerves getting the better of him. Hawke spared him a side-glance and he nodded, and stepped forward towards the table, attempting to gulp down the lump in his throat."Varania?" he asked, unsure of how even to greet this woman, for at first he had no memory of her, but she looked up in response to his voice, and she stood up. Her emerald eyes were identical to his own.

She had the same facial structure...he wondered how old she was, if, maybe they were even twins-"It really is you..." Her voice was solemn, but the underlying emotion was evident in her tone. She was about to cry, barely holding it together, while he stood before her, a shadow of the brother she once knew. "Leto..."Her voice, and that name that was so foreign to his ears, yet at the same time so familiar, brought back a memory.

 _"You shouldn't run in the courtyard, Leto! Master will be angry!"_ Fenris shook his head slightly, almost as if he was trying to get rid of the memory. A few more flooded back, briefly, of Varania, their mother, and their childhood. When they passed, Fenris spoke again.

"Sister?" The other elf nodded and he replied, "I...remember you. We used to play in our master's courtyard while mother worked...you called me..."

"Leto." Varania repeated. "That's your name."

"Should we leave you two alone?" Isabela asked. Fenris turned back to face his companions, who had been silent up until this point. Hawke shook her head at Isabela, indicating that it was a bad idea.

"No, please, don't go, Annabelle." he pleaded, looking into the sea blue eyes of the woman he loved. She sensed his panic and stepped forward, taking his hand, intertwining their fingers. Fenris was a little surprised, but her words put him at ease; "It's all right. I'm here for you, Fenris."

"You...have friends, here in Kirkwall? A lover?" Varania looked uncomfortable, almost like she was guilty of, or dreaded something."That isn't...a problem, is it, sister?" Fenris asked suspiciously as he raised a dark eyebrow.

Varania smiled nervously, raising her hand slightly to reveal a deep cut on her palm, and Fenris could smell death, and blood magic, all around him. His first instinct was to run, to get out of there and take Annabelle and anyone else he cared about with him. "Actually, I think...master will like this even better!" Varania said looked behind him only to find Hawke, Isabela, Varric, and everyone else in the tavern slumped where they had been standing or sitting, and he did not anticipate the blow to the head that knocked him down. He was out cold before he hit the he awoke the first thing he noticed was that he was already standing, or rather, hanging by his arms, his feet barely touching the ground. He opened his eyes as quickly as he could but his vision was still very blurry. His head was throbbing, and he could feel the power of his lyrium markings being drained. He knew right away this was Danarius' work. The chains binding his hands to the ceiling of wherever he was were infused with some kind of rune, rendering his markings pretty much useless.

"Venhedis, festa vas!" He growled. His vision began to return, and he was horrified at what he saw. Danarius, in all his horrifying, filthy Tevinter robes, circling three figures on the floor. Boxes and crates surrounded them, and he didn't have to wait until his vision was flawless to know what was going on here. Varania. _That treacherous bitch!_ She had done this to him, and then he realized, to his horror, he wasn't the only victim of her treachery."Ah, good to see you are awake, my pet." That voice made Fenris' skin crawl. Memories of things Danarius had done...made him do, crept back into the elf's mind, and they were much unwanted. "I would not want my property damaged in the process of my reclaiming it."

Fenris' blood boiled, and his heart sank when he heard a muffled cry coming from the cluster of three, it sounded like an accusation, and there was no doubt who it was directed at, or who the voice belonged to."Aha, and the Champion has awakened as well. What a pity it would be to see her die." Danarius teased, approaching Fenris. His top armor was gone leaving him only in his trousers, and exposing most of his markings. Isabela and Varric were stirring now too, realizing they were gagged and their hands were bound tightly behind their backs. Hawke was the closest to Fenris and there were tears in her eyes now, as she realized their grave predicament."You wouldn't dare harm her!" Fenris roared, startling Varania, who stood next to one of the four guards standing watch in the warehouse. She looked down at the floorboards when Fenris scowled furiously at her.

Danarius chuckled cruelly and stopped at Annabelle's side, kneeling. Fenris' eyes widened, and Hawke's gaze flickered wildly towards her captor. "You see that, my dear?" the Magister asked Hawke as he tweaked her cheek. He pointed at Fenris, not taking his hand off Hawke, despite her cringing away from his touch."That is a fool, who puts others in danger for his own gain. Watch. He would see you and your little...crew, here... killed, if it meant he would be legally freed from servitude, forever, and never troubled again by his _rightful master._ " Danarius spoke to Annabelle as if she were a child, the same way he would have spoken to Fenris when he was a slave.

The elf's stomach churned. This nightmare couldn't be real. But he didn't need to be pinched to realize that it was as real as the nose on his shook her head wildly, and she sobbed now, through the piece of cloth that prevented her from saying anything anybody in the warehouse could actually understand. If they died, if _Hawke_ died, Fenris knew he would have to live with it for the rest of his life, and that would be a miserable life without her.

Fenris struggled against the chains that bound him, but to no avail, and when he gave up that struggle he looked at Annabelle apologetically. Danarius stood up and finally reached him. "You've got some decisions to make, my pet. Your freedom, or their lives. Which would you give up?" The magister spat in his face. Fenris looked Danarius in the eye and snarled fiercely. "Let. Them. Go." The magister laughed coldly in Fenris' face.

"As if you've ever given a damn about anyone but yourself. You've grown weak, my pet. Your newfound compassion for others, your love for Miss Blonde-Hair-Blue-Eyes, here? They'll only weigh you down more. Only hurt more when you're a slave. When you've got nobody left but your own miserable self. Really, I'd be doing you a favor, severing your bonds with these pathetic little scamps. But I'll leave their lives in your hands."

Danarius ran a hand down the elf's arm so softly it tickled, and Fenris began trembling. "Oh, what's the matter, pet, are you cold? Say the word, they die, you're free, and we can all move on. You can get a nice coat. I'll even pitch in enough coin to buy you one before I sail back on my merry way back to Minrathous. _It's up to you."_

Hawke finally managed to work her gag loose enough that she slid it out of her mouth with her tongue."Fenris...Aveline's guards will be looking for us!" She cried.

"Aye, shut up!" One of Danarius' guards shouted as he gagged her again, tighter this time.

"It matters not, Fenris. The guard captain is good, but not that good. She'll never make it in time to save them, and you will not be linked to their deaths. We can even give you enough coin to start a new life, in a new place...""SHUT UP!" Fenris cried so abruptly that Danarius nearly jumped, but instead he punched Fenris so hard he nearly broke his jaw. The elf suppressed a cry, and he looked past the man who had caused him so much pain and anguish, and he looked at Hawke's face. Her beautiful eyes. They were now full of tears and Isabela and Varric had stopped struggling against the cords binding their hands and feet and they looked to him. As much as he hated to admit it, Danarius was right. Their lives were in his hands. And he wasn't about to let any of them down.

"What will it be, Fenris? I haven't got all day."

Fenris didn't take his eyes off Annabelle, as he tried to convey strength to her through his gaze.

 _I'm here for you, Fenris. Maker, why was she so perfect? And now he had to be there for her, even if it was the last time._ "Let them go, Danarius...I am yours."

"Splendid." A surprised Danarius chirped, and he gave the order for Hawke, Isabela and Varric to be led outside and released once they reached Hightown.

But the last phrase was not meant for Danarius, he recalled as they dragged him off to their wretched ship.


	2. Chapter 2

**Annabelle Hawke**

Hawke screamed and cried desperately for Fenris, long after he was gone. They had taken him back to the war ship Danarius had brought, and his bitch of a sister was among them. Danarius was also out of her reach, as he had accompanied the guards who had dragged Fenris to the ship in heavy chains. He'd struggled, but with his powers subdued and no sword, there hadn't been much he could have done to stop what was happening. Four guards remained, and the Champion, the dwarf and the pirate sat together, bound, gagged and very, very unsettled, Annabelle being the least calm of them all. She struggled the hardest against her bonds, desperate to get to the man she loved, longing to hold him, tell him it was over and that the man who had done so much wrong to him and so many others was dead. But he was alive and well. And he had Fenris on that Maker-forsaken Tevinter warship, bound in huge, heavy, lyrium-infused chains and there was nothing in the world she could do do soothe the blows that were surely to come. To free him, save him from a fate worse than death. When the ship was gone, there was no daylight to see by. Hawke's bonds were cut, but for obvious reasons, her trusty weapons were not returned to her. Isabela and Varric were also disarmed,their weapons having been dropped in the Hanged Man, and they had to stop her from assaulting the four remaining Tevinter soldiers and getting herself killed. "No, no." Varric said as he and Isabela held her back firmly from kicking, punching, or tackling the guards. "Don't let his choice be in vain." The dwarf spoke gently, and Hawke wanted to protest, but Isabela took her into a long, tight embrace, and Annabelle sobbed onto the pirate's tunic.

"I failed." she said after a long while. "He trusted me and I let him fall into a trap. I can't believe I was so stupid."

"You weren't, honey, you weren't." Isabela tried to console her but even the witty pirate was at a loss for words. The guards took them to Hightown and Hawke finally broke free from her friends and gave one of them a swift kick in the groin before her companions got her back into their own grasp. They had beaten the soldiers to where Annabelle was, and the guards finally left them at that point. That night Hawke returned to an empty mansion. Little Orana tried innocently to ask her what was wrong, but Hawke couldn't bear to look at the elven girl, for even she was a reminder of everything Fenris had believed in and when Orana called her 'mistress' Hawke broke down and sobbed on Varric's coat. Isabela quickly and cleverly asked the little girl to make some tea and Orana was gone for the time being. Isabela walked to Darktown and summoned Anders, then to Lowtown to fetch Merrill, while Varric got one of Aveline's guards posted near Hawke's house to go and send for the guard captain. Varric stayed with the Champion while waiting for the others to arrive, for he feared the ideal of leaving the emotionally unstable woman by herself. Isabela returned shortly with Anders and Merrill and Aveline brought a small group of trusty guardsmen, including Guardsman Donnic. Hawke lay on her sofa crying hysterically and speaking beyond comprehension to anyone who tried to speak with her. Merrill stayed by her side, not really knowing what to do or say. Everything went by in a blur with the gathered crowd in Hawke's foyer chattering nervously amongst themselves until Varric addressed the group.

"I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it. Fenris has been captured by the Tevinter Magister who used to own him..." The dwarf said loudly. An audible gasp escaped Merrill's lips and she held Hawke, who now cried on her shoulder.

There was a small murmur among the crowd and Varric had to work harder than usual to silence them and get their attention. "As some of you may know, he was very close to the Champion, which is why I gathered you all in Hawke's mansion."

"I love him. And I never got a chance to tell him." Hawke cried. She received sympathetic glances from everyone in the room save for Anders, who looked to the ground, looking even a little bit guilty for all the times he'd belittled the elf.

"He knew it, Hawke. We all knew." Merrill said softly to Annabelle, whose blonde locks were unkempt and blue eyes were full of tears. Her normally pale face was very red, and she was taking fast, labored breaths.

"Knew? He isn't dead..." Hawke gasped before collapsing into Merrill's arms again in a sobbing fit.

"Good point, Hawke. Wipe your tears away and we should form a plan to rescue him." A voice said boldly. Hawke almost didn't recognize it as the voice of the apostate Fenris considered the bane of his existence and a danger to everyone. Anders looked fierce now. "I have seen too many lovers torn apart injustly. _**It will not happen to you, Annabelle Hawke. You have done too much good. You do not deserve it."**_

Varric rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Hello, Justice."

Anders nodded and Hawke looked up."He's right. But Fenris has suffered for so many years at the hand of that Magister. We need to bring him home, and Danarius will be dealt with, once and for all." Annabelle said with an added fierceness that caused Merrill to shy away from her a little bit, moving to the other side of the couch. They set sail on a ship Isabela borrowed from one of Varric's contacts the very next day, headed for Minrathous.

 **Fenris**

He defied them with bitter silence as the ship sailed away. Danarius had made very it clear he was going to wipe the elf's memories as soon as they reached the Tevinter Imperium's capital. Locked in the brig Fenris spent most of his time in silence enough to drive a normal man mad. But Fenris used the silence to close his eyes and remember, while he still could. Annabelle's smile, her cheerful way of looking at situations that were...questionable in their cheeriness. He finesse in battle was admirable, but she also had a way with words, and he loved her for it. He loved her for everything she was, and everything she saw in him, in the others, even Anders. How he'd hated the apostate, but how he wished he could see him again, even if it was only because it meant he would remain at Hawke's side.

There were footsteps coming down below deck. Fenris opened his emerald eyes slowly and looked warily toward the door. Danarius coming to gloat? No. There was only one set of footsteps and even with the elf bound in chains Danarius would not be foolish enoguh to dare come alone. There was only one other being on the ship who was foolish enough to do so.

"Leto?" she called softly as he shifted his weight against the chains hanging him by the wrists to the ceiling.

"I do not want to see you." he growled.

"Fool. You do not have a choice, brother." Varania said bitterly. "You abandoned me. It's your fault mother is dead. I had to grow up an orphan, and a slave, thanks to you."

"What do you want me to say, Varania, do you want me to apologize for seeking a better life? I didn't even know you existed until yesterday, _sister. And might I add I wish I still did not."_

A humorless chuckle escaped her lips. She stepped towards the chained elf, and the moonlight shone down between the shadows of the barred trapdoor. "Don't worry." She said with mocking softness to her tone. "In a week or so you will never know I existed. It will be for the better." She almost looked ashamed, but then she smirked. There was a small pocket on his trousers and she reached into her own pocket and pulled out a small red sash. It was familiar, and Fenris suppressed a gasp when he saw it, widening his emerald eyes.

"How did you-"

"Don't." Varania said coldly. She stepped closer and wrapped the sash around itself, tucking it into his pocket. "May there be more mercy for you than there was for me." She smiled, almost a warm smile, with a hint of regret.

Before Fenris could question, Varania called for a guard. "He is a witness, so you will not be blamed." she whispered. "For wha-" the guard appeared nearby in a hurry and Varania drew a dagger. Fenris' eyes widened more but she aimed it not at him, but at herself.

"Forgive me Leto. I love you, brother." Then she sank the dagger into her own chest. The guard had rushed to stop her, but he was not fast enough. Fenris said nothing as more guards came, and eventually Danarius came down to see what all the ruckus was about. The body was taken away, and Varania was true to her words. Nobody blamed Fenris. Danarius looked Fenris over and the elf silently prayed he wouldn't discover what Varania had given him, for it was something nobody in all of Thedas had the right to take away from him. Danarius said nothing save for an order for the guards to throw Varania's body to the sharks and return to their posts. Fenris pondered the irony that his sister had been willing to sell out her own brother for this man and yet all she was to the magister was shark food. No. It was typical of a magister, Fenris concluded.

When they arrived in Minrathous a week had gone by surely enough and Fenris was hauled off the ship and quickly taken to Danarius' mansion. The Magister came to see his newly returned 'pet' in the dungeon of his Minrathous estate. No longer bound in the gigantic chains Fenris now wore an enchanted collar, still rendering his powers useless but allowing him the freedom to move his arms. He almost wanted to forget it all. His own sister was dead, clearly it was his fault, and Hawke was alive but probably miserable because he'd chosen her life over his freedom to be granted. Oh, she probably hated him. All he did was leave, whether he had wanted to or not. He could never do her justice. He looked down at her favor, the only thing soft, warm or beautiful in his dank prison. The only piece of her he'd have after they stripped him of everything he was again.

When the Magister arrived at his cell Fenris had had just enough time to stuff the beloved favor from Hawke back into his pocket before Danarius opened his cell door and looked him over. "That little blonde rogue really was something, wasn't she, my pet? Hawke, was it? Such a shame I could not have her as well... I could have used her to warm my bed...and then if you were good, I would have let you play with her as well, my little wolf..." the Magister said coyly.

"Do not. Speak. Of. Her." Fenris gritted his teeth to resist the urge to spring upon Danarius like the wolf his master often described, and rip out the man's heart the way he had done to Hadriana years ago.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You never learn, do you my pet? It is a pity I shall have to force the memory of her pretty face from your silly little head. She would have been a perfect leash, but I do not go back on my word." Danarius said with a shake of his head. Then he snapped his finger to the guards who had accompanied him to the dungeons and they walked over, taking Fenris by the arms and roughly lifting him off the bench he sat on. The enraged elf fought them every step of the way. They led him up three flights of stairs but by the time they reached Danarius' laboratory they were all but carrying the lyrium marked elf. He kicked, screamed and swore, but it was no use once they got him onto the table. Strapped down and stripped of the grey tunic they had given him when they'd docked in Minrathous so he wouldn't freeze, Fenris roared, his anguish and pain filling the room like fire and smoke in a barn full of straw. Danarius waited until Fenris almost screamed himself hoarse and then he spoke. "Now, now, my pet. Don't you think you are acting rather childish? Your little lover back in Kirkwall would be ashamed."

The Magister placed a hand on the elf's forehead and pressed down hard, not allowing any more movement while a guard worked quickly to strap the collar around his neck to the table as well so that if he moved he would cut off his won air supply. He saw the dagger in Danarius' hand and he started to sob now, ignoring the memory of any time he had ever been stoic. He wanted Hawke. He wanted her to be here, to wake him up from this nightmare and soothe his agony. Her soft, gentle hands the only ones that were ever allowed to touch him again. But now Danarius was touching him, long, cold fingers with unnaturally hard tips, tracing every strand and vein of Lyrium, teasing the markings, all over, until the spell the Magister was brewing released and Fenris cried out in pain, markings lighting ablaze and emerald eyes clenched shut as he screamed. The markings were activated now and the ritual would begin at any moment.

"Master we are under attack!" A slave burst into the laboratory just as Danarius was about to make the first cut to pour more lyrium into Fenris' markings. "What the-" a bolt struck the guard right between the eyes before he could finish, and a familiar voice rang out. "Plenty more where that came from! That's for making me drop Bianca!" Fenris mentally thanked the Maker and Varric at the same time that the voice was familiar, it gave him a reason to keep fighting, and a bit of sanity in all this madness.

 **Hawke**

She normally took no pleasure in killing but the last few guards she slew before they gained entry to Danarius' mansion fueled her to muster the courage and determination to free the man she loved. Isabela had slit the throat of one of the guards and she'd done the same to the other, then it was a frenzy of killing or at least immobilizing any hostiles that got between Annabelle and the room where Fenris was being held. Varric reached said room first and Annabelle, Anders and Merrill followed close behind him as Isabela and Aveline kept any other guards at bay.

She glanced at the table around which several mages had been standing including Danarius himself and she spotted the top of Fenris' silvery white hair and her heart sank. He faced away from the door and he was convulsing under the restraints binding him to the table, and screaming. His markings were lit up and agony filled his screams, causing despair to fill her heart.

The fight was long and exhausting. The guards were quickly wounded or fallen, but then Danarius' mages joined the fray, and Hawke maneuvered her way towards them, trying desperately to close the gap and plant herself between them and that table. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and she practically tore up one of the mages with her daggers, while Anders, Merrill and Varric kept the others occupied with ranged attacks. One by one the mages fell, until only Danarius remained. He cast a stronger spell on Fenris and his cried turned to roars once again and he convulsed harder. With a pained glance his direction and then turning back to Danarius, Hawke yelled, "Stop that now! Inflicting pain on those who cannot fight back is cowardly." She cried furiously. Varric shot one more bolt and it hit Danarius' foot, just before he could reply to Hawke's challenge, and the Magister threw a firebolt, which was frozen away in the air by an ice spell cast by Anders. This distracted him long enough for Hawke to slash at him with her daggers. Anders closed in, ready to protect his friend from the wrath of the older mage and the two mages began shooting spells at one another, blood magic was fueling the magister now, and Hawke knew it, as she had wounded him he was using the blood to fuel his spells instead of lyrium.

Finally Anders mustered his last bit of strength and summoned a large stonefist, shooting it at Danarius full blast. Hawke was hit by it too, or rather, by Danarius' limp body as he was falling, and the impact hurt. She felt her wrist snap under the Magister's lifeless form. "Agh, shit!" She cried, but she stood up quickly and the rest of those on her side joined them in the laboratory now. Fenris was quiet now, and unconscious. Hawke shook out of Ander's grasp as he tried to cast a healing spell on her arm and she rushed to his side, with Isabela and Varric next to her. Isabela worked to free the elf from the table and when he finally was unbound Hawke shook him with her good arm. His eyes opened, but he did not move or speak. "Fenris?! Tell me I'm not too late...I'm always too late, Maker damnit!" She cried. She let go of him, praying the ritual was not yet complete and he still remembered something...anything. She sobbed a little and Anders looked from Fenris's face to hers. "I think I can ease his pain, but I don't know if he-"

"Hawke." Fenris said softly and hoarsely, regaining his ability to speak at long last. He wanted to hold the woman he loved in his arms but when he tried to move the markings pulsed and he cried out. "Easy, there, broody. Good to see you're still you, but don't hurt yourself." Varric moved towards them and helped Anders steady him. "You remember...thank the Maker." Annabelle whispered as she thew her arms around his neck and he lifted his head cautiously.

"Hawke." he said her name again, faintly, as if she would fade away any second. "I am still yours." He said without thinking.

"Oh, Fenris!" Annabelle cried. "I thought I had lost you."

He sat up, having gotten over some of the initial shock and regained some of his strength, then he wrapped her in a tight embrace. "And I thought I'd lost you." he said softly.

She rested her forehead on his and with her good arm she stroked his cheek tenderly. "Hawke, please let me heal you before you hurt your wrist even worse." Anders said, tapping her shoulder.

She reluctantly let go of Fenris and allowed the mage to look at her arm and heal it quickly and then all eyes were on Fenris. He slowly reached into his little pocket and pulled out the red favor. "There is mercy yet." He said as he gently wrapped her wrist with the sash. "There is. There is." Hawke said softly, gazing down at the sash with a bewildered expression on her face.

Anders healed Fenris and managed to soothe the markings from their pulsing everytime he made a large movement. Then Hawke took her cloak and wrapped it around the elf's shoulders. "It's so cold." She said.

"Don not worry Hawke. I am fine. I'm fine now, that is. I was worried Danarius wouldn't keep his word." Fenris said,

"I was worried I'd be too late and I would never get to...to tell you I love you." She said, her face turning a lighter shade of pink.

Fenris took her hands in his, and she helped him off the table. "I love you too, Annabelle." "Let's go home."

And they did, hand in hand.


End file.
